Small sailboats generally have a rudder connected to a tiller which is manually controlled by the sailor to maintain a desired course. The tiller must be minded almost continuously, particularly in foul weather or windy conditions, or the rudder will swing to head the boat into the wind which may well lead to undesirable or even disastrous consequences. Since small sailboats often have a crew of only one or two sailors, it is quite a burden to require continuous minding of the tiller. There is often a need for a helmsman to leave the tiller to adjust sails or sheets or to attend to a critical task away from the tiller but the helmsman can leave the tiller unattended only for a brief moment or in a situation which does not require maintaining control of the tiller.
Of course, a tiller control device should be easily engaged to control the tiller and also easily disengaged from controlling the tiller so that the helmsman can quickly regain control when circumstances require such action. Also, many small sailboats have limited space at the tiller and it would be desirable to have a tiller control device which could be removed and stored out of the way either along a bulkhead or elsewhere in the sailboat. Small sailboats have limited space available and it is important to use available space as efficiently as possible.
The need for a device to control the tiller to allow the helmsman to leave the tiller unattended for a limited period of time has been recognized in the prior art. Examples of patents directed to such devices include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,410 Oct. 18, 1966 to R. O. Young for TILLER TENDER ACCESSORY FOR SMALL BOATS; U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,441 Mar. 19, 1974 to John Burnett for TILLER CONTROLS FOR SMALL BOATS; U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,918 Mar. 28, 1978 to Robert Bruce Bonhard for RUDDER CONTROL DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,869 Dec. 18, 1979 to Fred C. Turrentine for COMBINED REMOVABLE TILLER EXTENSION HOLDING AND CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR WATERCRAFT; U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,684 Dec. 30, 1980 to Dan B. Davis for TILLER STEERING LOCK; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,800, Oct. 16, 1984 to John W. Gage for RUDDER CONTROL DEVICE.
Although as set forth above, the need for a tiller control device has been recognized in the art and there are several devices known in the art for tiller control, there remains room for improvements. For example, it would be desirable to have a rudder control kit which is readily adaptable to different sailboat designs. Such a kit would be applicable to a greater number of sailboats than a kit designed for a specific sailboat and thus could be manufactured in greater quantities at and lower cost per kit. Also, it would be desirable to have a rudder control which can be readily engaged and disengaged and which has an optional storage feature when it is not in use.
In accordance with the present invention, a tiller control kit is readily adaptable for use with the two most common tiller types and with sailboats of different sizes and designs. The tiller control kit can be economically manufactured and easily installed. Furthermore, after installation on the sailboat, the tiller control device is readily engaged and disengaged by the helmsman and can be easily removed to be readily stored out of the way.
Further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.